For parents
How FishyFractions works
What it teaches, how it teaches it, and why your child will actually want to keep playing.
No download. No account. Works on any device.
The basics
What is FishyFractions?
FishyFractions is a browser game for ages 11 to 14 that teaches fractions — every topic in the KS3 maths curriculum. Your child plays in a web browser. There is nothing to download and no account needed to start.
The game covers everything from simplifying fractions to multiplying and dividing mixed numbers. It works through these topics in order, adjusting the difficulty as your child improves.
How it works
The basic idea
An underwater scene fills the screen. Fish swim across it — goldfish, clownfish, angelfish, and more unusual species as the game progresses. Your child taps a fish and a fraction question appears. They build their answer by dragging number tiles into a fraction frame, like arranging fridge magnets. They submit the answer, and the game responds immediately.
That is the whole loop. Tap a fish. Answer the question. See the result. Tap the next fish.
The curriculum
What your child is actually doing
Every question is a fractions question from the KS3 maths curriculum. The game works through eight topic areas.
Simplifying
Writing a fraction in its smallest form. This comes up at every stage, because the game always checks that answers are fully simplified.
Fractions of amounts
Working out what a fraction of a number is. For example: what is 3/4 of 20?
Adding and subtracting
Adding and taking away fractions, including ones with different bottom numbers.
Mixed numbers
Working with numbers that have a whole part and a fraction part, like 2 and 3/4.
Multiplying
Multiplying fractions together, and fractions by whole numbers.
Dividing
Dividing by a fraction by swapping it for its reciprocal.
Cross-cancelling
A shortcut for multiplying fractions that keeps the numbers smaller. A fluency skill that stronger students use automatically.
Master level
Multiplying and dividing mixed numbers. The hardest topic in KS3 fractions.
Progression
The fish
The fish your child encounters are not random decoration. Simpler species appear first. More unusual ones appear as your child progresses.
Goldfish, guppies, and clownfish introduce the early topics. Angelfish, blue tang, and pufferfish appear in the middle stages. Lionfish, seahorses, and octopuses bring the harder questions. At the master level, sharks, manta rays, and bioluminescent jellyfish appear.
Your child will not be told "you have reached the hard section." They will just notice that the fish are getting more interesting.
Adaptive difficulty
How difficulty increases
The game adjusts difficulty quietly, based on how your child is doing. If they are answering correctly and quickly, the questions get harder. If they are struggling, the game eases back. Your child never sees this happening.
There are no levels to fail. There is no "you have been sent back to the beginning." The ocean just gets a little more interesting — or a little more gentle — depending on what your child needs.
When things go wrong
The unsimplified answer moment
FishyFractions does something most maths games do not: it distinguishes between a wrong answer and a correct-but-unsimplified answer.
If your child answers 4/8 instead of 1/2, the game does not mark it wrong. It recognises that 4/8 is correct in value, and asks your child to simplify further. That moment — the prompt to simplify — is one of the most important teaching moments in the game. Simplifying is a skill that comes up at every stage of KS3 fractions, and the game reinforces it every time.
If your child gives an answer that is genuinely wrong, the game shows them the correct answer with clear working, and moves on. There is no penalty. There is no "lives" system. Getting something wrong is just the next step in learning.
Rewards
The Aquarium
Your child earns coins for correct answers. Faster answers earn a small speed bonus. The coins are spent in the Aquarium — their personal underwater tank, decorated with fish, plants, backgrounds, and special items from the in-game shop.
- Coins cannot be bought with real money — earned through correct answers only
- No loot boxes. No randomised rewards. Your child knows what they are buying
- The aquarium persists between sessions and grows over time
- Free version includes a small aquarium — five items, two backgrounds, fish only
- Full aquarium shop unlocked with a one-time £3.99 purchase
Accessibility
Designed to work for as many players as possible
- Text size can be adjusted in the game settings
- A dyslexia-friendly font is available
- High contrast mode is available
- Reduced motion mode for players sensitive to animation
Where it runs
Play anywhere
The browser version works on any device with a modern web browser — no download, no plugin, loads instantly. This includes school Chromebooks, home laptops, tablets, and phones. iOS and Google Play versions are coming soon.
Try it now
Play the full game free
No download. No account. Works on any device. Play instantly and see exactly what your child will experience.